Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Tuesday asking him to reconsider his decision to cancel the permit for the highly lucrative Keystone XL Pipeline.
“Ongoing development of responsible energy infrastructure supports your ‘Build Back Better’ priorities by keeping Americans working while strengthening North American economic and energy security,”Manchin wrote in a letter obtained by CBS News reporter Cara Korte.
“I encourage you to let these processes proceed as intended and to not let politics drive the decisions on the development and operation of our nation’s vital energy infrastructure,” the West Virginia Democrat then implored.
Manchin’s letter was first reported by the Washington Examiner.
Biden revoked the Keystone XL Pipeline’s permit on his first day in office, effectively dooming the planned 1,700-mile pipeline which would have carried around 800,000 barrels of oil daily from Alberta, Canada, to Texas.
Keystone XL President Richard Prior said over 1,000 jobs, the majority unionized, will be eliminated in the coming weeks. “We will begin a safe and orderly shut-down of construction,” he said.
First proposed in 2008, the pipeline has become emblematic of the tensions between economic development and curbing the fossil fuel emissions that are causing climate change. The Obama administration rejected it, but President Donald Trump revived it and has been a strong supporter.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.